To begin, let me state unequivocally that Muslim women should have the freedom to decide whether or not to wear the hijab. It should be entirely in their hands to make this decision. Any intellectual discussion of the veil’s use in educational facilities or other public spaces should be founded on and centered on this fundamental point.

Since the declaration of a “war on terror” two decades ago, Muslim women have been the victims of institutionalized Islamophobia in Europe and other parts of the world. Their freedom of expression and religion have been systematically hampered with and violated by European states and other parts of the world through discriminatory legislation and policies, as well as racist rhetoric.

Under the guise of ‘neutrality’ and ‘protection,’ these countries are slipping into pre-Renaissance religious intolerance by enacting discriminatory laws. Many Muslim women have faced gendered Islamophobia and discrimination as a result of these state-led actions. Headscarf bans have had a significant impact on Muslim women, both those who choose to wear them and those who do not.

In today’s world, Islamophobic attacks are on the verge of escalating. Muslims are accused of women’s oppression, terrorism, ignorance and hostility toward civilization. Many Muslim communities are being persecuted around the world. Some Muslims are caught in the middle of a battle in which they are subjected to military fire. Others are embroiled in a battle of ideas, conflicted by propaganda and insults. Oftentimes, psychological warfare is more damaging than military warfare, as its effects can linger for generations. And Muslim women who wear the hijab, which is the most visible representation of Islam, are caught in the middle of heated hate.

Instead of zeroing in on the issue of people’s prejudices against Muslims, the argument is predicated on the assumption that the hijab is the problem. Is it that important what people are wearing? If real progress is to be made, it must begin and end with the removal of bigotry, not with the removal of head coverings.

Can individual rights be protected while maintaining society’s secularist values without being overly restrictive of individual rights or being overly liberal in preserving a culture of foreign norms? Legislation and judicial review are used to negotiate the specific balancing points between the will of the majority and the freedom of the individual.

While secularism may prevent people from making laws based on religious scriptures, it cannot prevent fascists from oppressing religious minorities as “threats” to national identity. Currently, this is what we are seeing in India with the Hindutva Movement against Muslims, and it happens in France and Austria, and it is gradually spreading throughout Europe. The fight over the hijab isn’t just an Indian or European issue; it’s a global phenomenon with a long history. The challenge for these countries lies in shifting away from a state-controlled public sphere toward a pluralistic society that can accommodate people of diverse ethnicities and religious beliefs.

Moreover, liberal democracies are built on the principle of giving individuals the latitude and freedom to express themselves, including their religious convictions. That is, the individual is shielded from the state’s ability to dictate their choices.

Democracies are legitimate when their general will is shaped by free people. Individual liberty is threatened when the democratic will is undermined, so individual rights are protected to keep democracy from crumbling. This has been the consensus since at least the time of John Locke.

Individual rights would be violated if the hijab were to be prohibited. It is yet another method of controlling women, and taking it to the government level and legislating how women dress is a violation of human rights and undermines the entire foundation of democracy. Moreover, some see the hijab as a symbol of ethnic identity and self-affirmation in a society where Muslim communities constitute a significant number of those marginalized. It is not the right policy to try to outlaw religious symbols in educational facilities and other public spaces. This blanket ban is the embodiment of the very fundamentalist ideology that it seeks to combat.

Secularism should enshrine the idea that all religions are welcome as long as no one is discriminated against, religious or non-religious, and as long as everyone is treated equally in terms of rights and responsibilities in front of the law.

About the Author

Famidah Dirampaten is a candidate for the Master of Arts in Religious Studies with concentrations in Interfaith Peace Building and Nonprofit Leadership at the Unification Theological Seminary in New York. She is currently based in Doha, Qatar. Instagram@famidz

The post THE GUISE OF SECULARISM: HIJAB BANS appeared first on World Hijab Day.

India has a very rich history and heritage when it comes to diversity, from the Aryans crossing over to the Himalayas and then, to the Dravidians. Moreover, its varying religious groups coexisted together for thousands of years!

Up until the last decade, after the demolition of the Babri Mosque resulted in riots, India did not witness any major confrontations between Hindus and Muslims. However, in the last few years, there has been an extreme rise in Islamophobia, leading to the current debate on the hijab ban.

Take, for example, The Citizenship Amendment Act of India 2019. The revised and edited version of this 1955 Act permits Indian citizenship eligibility to illegal migrants who are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians coming in from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan on or before Dec. 31st, 2014. The world, thanks to major media sources, now knows this Act as “The Anti-Muslim Act.”

I remember growing up attending college with no problem regarding my hijab. However, in the past month, Karnataka, which has a population of about 7.9 million Muslims, imposed the hijab ban. We were all shocked by this and this led to nationwide protests.

“The Current Karnataka Hijab Row” came after a college claimed to ban the open display of all religious symbols, but authorities are ignoring the Sikh headgear, the Christian crucifix and the Hindu sindoor. Instead, they are focusing on the Muslim hijab, whereby they shamelessly force Muslim girls and women in hijab, both students and teachers, to take off their hijabs before entering. Even the Constitution of India (Article 25 & 26) gives every citizen the right to practice their religion freely. Therefore, to change the rules, one must also change the laws.

Furthermore, there are open racial slurs and invitations for mob lynchings, even by current politicians of the Right Wing Organizations of India. Meanwhile, law enforcement officials are turning a blind eye.

Anti-Nationals and “Muslim Sympathisers” in government, choose to remain silent out of fear of losing majority votes; after all, democracy is about how the majority rules, right?! Moreover, 90% of all the Major Mainstream Media are peddling the government narrative and propagating Islamophobia, blatantly and with no accountability whatsoever.

However, there are the few social activists and journalists who are raising their voices, but are hounded by central agencies or an army of Online Islamophobic trolls, as a result. Therefore, we have various international media and human rights organizations, publishing reports on the state of the minorities affairs.

We cry and our hearts bleed for our sisters who are forced to remove their hijabs to get an education and to make a living for their families.

Dr. Gregory Stanton, founder of “Genocide Watch,” who also predicted the genocide in Rwanda long before it happened, said, “We are warning that genocide can very well happen in India.”

Today, in India, I wonder if I will be able to practice the steadfastness of Khadijah (رضي الله عنه) or the hope and resilience of Hajar (رضي الله عنه). I just pray that Allah chooses what is best for us so that I can raise daughters in this India I no longer recognize…this “New India.”

About the Author

Mariam Bint Salman Sayed is the World Hijab Day Organization Ambassador in India. She resides in Mumbai and is actively following the hijab ban threats under the Indian government. She is an entrepreneur and a student of political science and Islamic Theology. Fitness is her passion just as much as educating others on the true Islam.

The post MY HIJAB IS MY SHIELD IN THIS “NEW INDIA” appeared first on World Hijab Day.

Articles 25-28 of the Constitution of India professes the freedom of practicing and peacefully promoting one’s religion, there is no State religion and the State is required to treat all religions impartially and neutrally.

I grew up in a small Indian town where there was a lot of diversity, religious tolerance and communal harmony. This is not the India I knew and grew up in, where religious shouts such as “Jai Shree Ram” are hurled at a single Burqa-clad girl walking to her college, where such words are used to intimidate her into removing her hijab, where Ram is a symbol of patience, endurance and righteousness?

In the last few days, we have come to recognize 19-year-old Muskan Khan, from Karnataka, India, who showed no fear when she was freckled by a visibly violent right-wing anti-hijab mob. People across the world are standing in solidarity with her and applauding her courage, as seen by social media posts about her. She defies the stereotype of hijabi girls as being weak, oppressed and uneducated.

In an interview with a news channel, she said she has the right to education and to wear whatever she wants because of the country’s laws. “They’re keeping us from studying because of a piece of cloth, Sir,” she added, indicating her headscarf.

For a little while, the words hung in front of my eyes before piercing my heart. I noticed legitimate anger and immense strength on Muskan’s face; people now know her as the lioness that roared her way through the bullying group. This group was stopping girls from entering their colleges because a handful of individuals dislike the hijab. I couldn’t help, but think, How cruel is that and what does one call this: racism, discrimination, hatred, injustice, just plain bad luck or all the above? What is the definition of oppression when one accuses another of being forced to wear the hijab and then, forces them to remove it?

Women in India and around the world are denied their fundamental human right to dress modestly in accordance with their religion because they do not meet the country’s recent secularism requirements.

Isn’t it clear that the hijab was never the issue? It was always about a certain faith and your apprehension about it. This is called, “Islamophobia.” To all those who are “Islamophobic,” now that you’ve identified the core of your issue, address your personal fears in a more productive and peaceful manner rather than taunting random girls in hijab who only wish for an education, also their right as citizens of India.

About the Author

Sana Khan is a Motivational Speaker, Writer and Coach. Moreover, Khan has attained her engineering degree from Shobhit Institute of Engineering and Technology (now a Deemed University) and Dr. APJ Abdul Kamal University (former UPTU) in India. She has an MA in International Business from EAE Business School in Barcelona Spain and UPC Catalunya, Spain. Khan has recently written a motivational eBook entitled, “Dreamcatcher Framework.” She has also co-authored a spiritual anthology called, “Pause and Pen.” When she is not reading or writing, she prefers to nature-walk or sip coffee with her husband and son in Belgium.

Website: www.talkwithsana.com
YouTube and Facebook @TalkwithSana
Instagram @Sanakrblogs

The post What Should We Call this Attack on Hijabis in India? appeared first on World Hijab Day.